Irene Boland Honored by York County Chamber of Commerce

Quick Facts

In her acceptance speech, Professor Irene Boland said she is a product of the Rock Hill school system and then Winthrop College. She thanked her many teachers who are responsible for making her a lifelong learner. The recognition came as part of the teachers of the year awards for educators at public private and higher education institutions. The event is sponsored annually by the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce during American Education Week.

Irene Boland

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Irene Boland, a Winthrop University geology professor, was among the York County educators honored for their hard work and dedication on Nov. 21 at Events at Manchester.

The recognition came as part of the teachers of the year awards for educators at public, private and higher education institutions. The event is sponsored annually by the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce during American Education Week.

In her acceptance speech, Boland said she is a product of the Rock Hill school system and then Winthrop College. She thanked her many teachers who are responsible for making her a lifelong learner.

Boland accepted the award from Debra Boyd, Winthrop provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Winthrop music students David Liotta, Ellis Hendrix and Kelsey Pittman provided the entertainment at the chamber event, while Winthrop jewelry students provided the design for an apple award for teachers.

For the second year in a row, the art students worked with a Rock Hill company, 3D Systems, to design and make the apple award for the teachers. Winthrop faculty member Courtney Starrett and students created a piece using computer-aided design and additive manufacturing.

She graduated from Winthrop with a chemistry and biology degree in 1963, then completed her M.A.T. in chemistry in 1969. During the mid-1980s, while teaching part time at Winthrop, Boland was given a text on plate tectonics and discovered a passion for geology. She earned a Ph.D. in 1996, 33 years after completing her undergraduate degree.

In the last decade, she has incorporated field trips into her geology lab courses, taught those who are not science majors, wrote a chapter on how geology affected the American Revolutionary battle of Eutaw Springs in a book focusing on military geology, and won a research council grant to develop a new laboratory manual for Winthrop’s earth and space science sequence.